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Another Dell SCREWJOB! - Page 2  

post #21 of 116
2/24/08 at 3:16pm
Dell has brought this upon themselves.

Face it the 1700/20 series laptops are NOT a replacement for a loaded up E1705 period.

This case in question was replaceing a M1710 with the top of line 7950GTX card - the only suitable replacement is a M1730 with the 8800 card.

the 8700 is not a replacement for a 7950GTX IMO, and the benchmarks will support that.

last point, in this case, they sent him a used piece of crap, with damage to the case and flawed screen, That it totally not acceptable.
post #22 of 116
2/24/08 at 4:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dave-p View Post
Dell has brought this upon themselves.

Face it the 1700/20 series laptops are NOT a replacement for a loaded up E1705 period.

This case in question was replaceing a M1710 with the top of line 7950GTX card - the only suitable replacement is a M1730 with the 8800 card.

the 8700 is not a replacement for a 7950GTX IMO, and the benchmarks will support that.

last point, in this case, they sent him a used piece of crap, with damage to the case and flawed screen, That it totally not acceptable.
Keep in mind, that if the M1710 was a replacement for a 9400, the next replacement has to be based ONLY on the 9400 originally bought, nothing more. That is something that people commonly don't understand.
post #23 of 116
2/24/08 at 4:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdonket View Post
Keep in mind, that if the M1710 was a replacement for a 9400, the next replacement has to be based ONLY on the 9400 originally bought, nothing more. That is something that people commonly don't understand.

Amen!!
post #24 of 116
2/24/08 at 5:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fenuxx View Post
As many of you know, I'm in the middle of Dell Hell right now. I'll try to make this as short and simple as possible.

I have had NUMEROUS problems with my XPS M1710. In fact, the only things that are ORIGINAL on it is the palmrest, LCD lid, and chassis. Everything else has been replaced at LEAST once, and in the case of several components, MANY times.

The specs for my XPS M1710 are:

XPS M1710 Black
Intel Core 2 Duo T7600G CPU
2GB DDR2-667 RAM
NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX videocard
200GB Hitachi 7200RPM hard drive
Dell TrueMobile 355 Bluetooth
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG wireless
DVD+/-RW
Windows Vista Home Premium


Now, after having all of these problems, and having MORE crop up, I said enough, and demanded a replacement. I made sure to point out my needs for videocard power and the DVI port (as to not get stuck with a 1720) and was assured I'd receive the GeForce 8800M GTX SLI, as it was the only comparable graphics card to what I had. I was told I would receive one that is "equal to, or better than" my previous system, and after a couple of days, I was told I would get:

XPS M1730
Intel Core 2 Extreme X7900 CPU
4GB DDR2-667 RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX in SLI
Ageia PhysX 100M 128MB
2x 200GB Hitachi 7200RPM hard drives in RAID-0
Dell TrueMobile 355 Bluetooth
Intel WifiLink 4965AGN wireless
DVD+/-RW with Blu-Ray Drive
Windows Vista Ultimate


I was thrilled. Basically top-notch, and I was happy, as it seemed like Dell MIGHT do something right this time. However, my glee was short-lived, as after a couple more days, I was able to see the specifications for my replacement, which were:

XPS M1730 Smoke-Grey
Intel Core 2 Extreme X7900 CPU
4GB DDR2-667 RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT in SLI
Ageia PhysX 100M 128MB
2x 200GB Seagate 7200RPM hard drives in RAID-0
Dell TrueMobile 355 Bluetooth
Intel WifiLink 4965AGN wireless
DVD+/-RW Drive
Windows Vista Ultimate


For the most part, they were the same, except for the videocard, which was the biggest upset, and the DVD drive, which lacked Blu-Ray (no big deal, I can live without it). After several days of trying to convince Dell about the videocard, as it was the only thing I was concerned about, they flat-out denied me. I provided NUMEROUS pieces of official documentation from NVIDIA comparing the two (the 7950 GTX and the 8700M GT SLI) and they just wouldn't budge. Finally, I tried higher-ups to get it resolved, and e-mailed several on Friday, 2-15. On SATURDAY, 2-16 at about 7AM I received a call from a guy at the "Resolutions Department". I was on vacation at the time, and was asleep, so I missed the call. I made a call-back as soon as I was awake, and of course, didn't reach him. I tried again on Monday, 2-18, Tuesday, 2-19, and Wednesday, 2-20, and couldn't get ahold of him, nor did I receive a callback.

On Tuesday, 2-19, I received the laptop, and IMMEDIATELY knew something was amiss when I opened the box. The laptop was in HORRIBLE shape. Significant amounts of scratches on the LCD lid, LCD itself, and on the palmrest, gooey sticker residue on the LCD lid and palmrest, a couple of small CHUNKS of the laptop chassis (dings) missing, right below the DVD drive, and finally, a nice chunk of dead pixels nearly smack-dab in the middle of the LCD screen, along with the screen itself being VERY dim (approximately HALF the brightness of my M1710's LCD), even at its maximum brightness setting. COMPLETELY unacceptable. "Certified Refurbished" my ass... Finally, later on Wednesday, I received a call from him, and he apologized for the condition of the laptop I received, and told me he would get me another replacement, and this time, a NEW laptop.

After several days (it is now Sunday morning) I still have not received word from him, nor have I been able to contact him once again. So, I decided to get on Dell Chat to see if I could get some information regarding my case. After asking about it, and WAITING for almost 20 minutes for him to respond, he told me there would be no more replacement parts (did I even ASK about replacement parts!?) and he would have to escalate the case to Fraud because of the number of replacements I had.

I don't understand where in the blue hell that came from, and why this is all of a sudden, as no one had a problem with it before. Every time I received a replacement part, I replaced it, and sent back the defective part immediately using the prepaid DHL label that was provided. Why didn't I just have a technician come out to replace the parts? The guy screwed up the laptop even WORSE all 3 times he worked on it (ranging from killing the USB ports to killing the videocard, and even killing the CPU), so I wasn't about to take that chance, not to mention it was difficult, due to my job, to schedule a technician. Besides, I'm a certified technician myself (albeit not a Dell technician) and I know what the hell I'm doing.



So there you have it, another Dell SCREWJOB in progress. I have filed a complaint with the BBB, and also sent my story to Consumerist. Dell also won't be getting back my M1710, nor the crappy M1730 I received, until all of this is resolved. Period. After this, and my past experiences, coupled with what I've seen others go through, I will NEVER, EVER, EVER buy another Dell again.

I just cannot believe that you expect Dell to take in consideration you GPU power needs when you originally bought a 9400, not GPU power house dude....

I for one am beginning to take this as a slap in the face. The fact that people purchased a laptop because of personal budget, then get upgraded to a computer that is not really a budget conscious purchase. I worked my tail off to buy what I have, I wish I had less morals, I would have bought a 9400, complained, and then demanded a XPS. I would have got what a wanted for a fraction of the price..

I don't want you to think that I'm saying that you are being devious, that's not my intention. But there is a Dell screw job going on here for sure....
post #25 of 116
2/24/08 at 5:51pm
Thread Starter 
OK, let's clear some things up...

First off, yes, the M1710 was a replacement for my E1705, which had the following specs:

Inspiron 9400/E1705
Intel Core 2 Duo T7400 CPU
2GB DDR2-667 RAM
NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS videocard
160GB Hitachi 7200RPM hard drive
Dell TrueMobile 355 Bluetooth
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG wireless
DVD+/-RW
Windows XP Professional


In June of last year, I initiated a replacement for the computer, as the thing overheated extremely (videocard died) and croaked. It had several problems, though admittedly not as many as the M1710. They replaced it with the following:

Inspiron 1720
Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 CPU
1GB DDR2-667 RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT videocard
120GB Seagate 5400RPM hard drive
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG wireless
DVD+/-RW
Windows Vista Home Basic


Now, what about that system above is off? Exactly. Everything. No BlueTooth either. I complained, as I have a right to. After days of battling with them about this, they finally agreed that what I got wasn't enough. I was then told I'd get an XPS M1710 as a replacement. Again, I waited, and after a few days, found out what I was getting, which was:

XPS M1710 Black
Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 CPU
1GB DDR2-667 RAM
NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS videocard
100GB Hitachi 7200RPM hard drive
Dell TrueMobile 355 Bluetooth
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG wireless
DVD+/-RW
Windows Vista Home Premium


OK, better, but STILL not to their "equal to, or better than" that they say. Once again, I went to higher-ups, and after not much at all, received the M1710 I outlined in my first post.


Now, to clear things up. I did not EXPECT an M1730. Nor did I demand one. What I demanded was "equal to, or better than" my previous system, which I was ASSURED I would get. I stated that if I received another M1710, that was fine, so long as it met my previous system's specs. Same thing if I got an M1730, but the only legitimate replacement in terms of videocard is the 8800M. I was assured that this would be the case and left it alone. Then, the battle started.

The only thing I demanded was equal to, or better than my previous system, which is what I was told I would receive, and here's where the gray area is... Some people say "previous system" while others say "original system". Dell never ONCE stated original system to me, but SEVERAL times they stated previous system.

The 7900 GS, at high resolutions (I've always had the WUXGA screen) and especially overclocked, will kill the 8700M GT's. Not as much so as the 79x0 GTX, but nonetheless. Go look at the benchmark thread to see. The 8700's are NOT proper replacments. Period. Now, if you're an idiot and go with Dell on the "NVIDIA SLI = 1+1=2" then go away, because that's not how it works. Go read up on SLI to see.

Oh, and the whole "fraud" thing comes from the number of replacement parts I had on my M1710.

I expect things to be upheld. I expect that, if something happens to my computer, that warranty I paid alot of money for is worth something. I expect the replacement to be at LEAST as good as what I had. I expect my replacement to be in excellent condition, not a piece of crap that they try to pass off on you.
post #26 of 116
2/24/08 at 6:00pm
I think the spec on the system was more than fair on original, and I really can't support you on your statement on GPU. FYI, you can also OC 8700SLI's, and it does run fairly well.

If I was in your case, I would've just asked for screen replacement, and few parts for cosmetics.

I think Dell was more than fair to you on specs though. (That spec is about 5k from Dell I think)

You can complain about the raw GPU power all you want, but comparing 7900GS and 8700GT SLI isn't really fair on your end. You could've easily sold the M1730, and recovered whatever you paid on E1705 and then some.

I hope things works out for ya. GL.

P.S. I do understand the BS you have to face on promises from Dell though.
post #27 of 116
2/24/08 at 6:12pm
Man you had a pretty much basic E1705 and you are getting 400GB raid, which you shouldnt, 4gb of ram which again you shouldnt, extreme core processor which again you shouldnt and finally wifi-n. All of those are huge upgrades over your original system and 8700SLI is better then STOCK 7900GS. You have no right to complain about the system you received other then the fact it was damaged. Does that give you the right to demand 8800GTX SLI, I dont believe so.
post #28 of 116
2/24/08 at 6:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ACHlLLES View Post
I think the spec on the system was more than fair on original, and I really can't support you on your statement on GPU. FYI, you can also OC 8700SLI's, and it does run fairly well.

If I was in your case, I would've just asked for screen replacement, and few parts for cosmetics.

I think Dell was more than fair to you on specs though. (That spec is about 5k from Dell I think)

You can complain about the raw GPU power all you want, but comparing 7900GS and 8700GT SLI isn't really fair on your end. You could've easily sold the M1730, and recovered whatever you paid on E1705 and then some.

I hope things works out for ya. GL.

P.S. I do understand the BS you have to face on promises from Dell though.
All of the above. I think you're getting overly greedy on what you want in the system. Think about it, you paid maybe $2000 on your original system and you want a $7000 replacement....yeah sounds totally fair.

Expect the worst, hope for the best.
post #29 of 116
2/24/08 at 6:15pm
McFly, I really don't think you should post anything here. This prolly all started because of you showing off your replacement.
post #30 of 116
2/24/08 at 6:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ACHlLLES View Post
McFly, I really don't think you should post anything here. This prolly all started because of you showing off your replacement.
Don't get mad at him, he just got lucky. It's not like he demanded the 8800GTX's it's just the tech was feeling especially nice and granted him it.

Again, do blame Dell for the double standard rather than the guys on the uber-lucky side.
post #31 of 116
2/24/08 at 6:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdonket View Post
All of the above. I think you're getting overly greedy on what you want in the system. Think about it, you paid maybe $2000 on your original system and you want a $7000 replacement....yeah sounds totally fair.

Expect the worst, hope for the best.
I wouldn't call it greedy though. I mean if I put myself in his place, and seen guy like McFly getting 8800GTX SLI on top of his XPS, I also be like why can't I get the same treatment? You know what I mean?

He just pushed little too far from reading other guys is all.

Dells promise, some defects on the XPS isn't excusable on Dell's part.
post #32 of 116
2/24/08 at 6:18pm
Thread Starter 
I would be fine with no Core 2 Extreme. I would be fine without RAIDed hard drives, I don't even use Wireless-N, so it doesn't matter to me, and I would be fine with 2GB of RAM instead of 4GB. The biggest thing that matters to me is the videocard. Everything else doesn't make much of a difference to me.
post #33 of 116
2/24/08 at 6:19pm
How did the BS w/ fraud work out? Have you tried just getting few parts to replace?
post #34 of 116
2/24/08 at 6:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdonket View Post
Don't get mad at him, he just got lucky. It's not like he demanded the 8800GTX's it's just the tech was feeling especially nice and granted him it.

Again, do blame Dell for the double standard rather than the guys on the uber-lucky side.
I do get it, but how many times did he mention about it? Atleast like 1000 times on this board lol.
post #35 of 116
2/24/08 at 6:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ACHlLLES View Post
I wouldn't call it greedy though. I mean if I put myself in his place, and seen guy like McFly getting 8800GTX SLI on top of his XPS, I also be like why can't I get the same treatment? You know what I mean?

He just pushed little too far from reading other guys is all.

Dells promise, some defects on the XPS isn't excusable on Dell's part.
I see how he feels, I still don't think it's not greedy. To want more than should be given is what I call greedy.

I do see the defects as a problem, but again they should've been the only parts fixed/questioned.
post #36 of 116
2/24/08 at 6:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ACHlLLES View Post
McFly, I really don't think you should post anything here. This prolly all started because of you showing off your replacement.
I got lucky when I got my replacement, but I did not push for it. I asked for a new E1705 as I had many problems with mine and they asked me to send it in, so I did. When I got it back it was slower then when I sent it in and would not shut down. Wifi would go out and the only way to fix it was to hard power off the system as it would not restart or shutdown. And they sent it to me with a 6cell not the 9 cell I sent it in with. So after that I called back to get the exchange they said they would do if the depot did not fix it. The only thing I asked for was DVI as I use it for school and I needed to have it. after a couple days of waiting i was going to be sent a 1720 even though they told me I would not get that system and when I called in to see what was up, my rep just canceled the order and sent me a 1730. I did call in an be like you said I wasnt gonna get that and now you are trying to send it to me so I am demanding a 1730, no I just asked what was up and he got mad that they did that and canceled it and put in a new order for me. Then since I had a good contact I was trying to get info on the 8800gtx sli as far as price and part number for people here so they could order it and at the same time I was asking him for help on fixing my 8700SLI as it was running slow. And instead of having a tech try and fix it which hasnt worked for me in the past he did an exchange order for the 8800GTX SLI. I know I got really lucky with my exchange and I am very thankful. The system he got as an exchange was more then enough from his original system, other then the cosmetic damage, and should be thankful as well.
post #37 of 116
2/24/08 at 6:26pm
Just gonna say that I won't be posting in this thread anymore. No point in arguing over it, it's clear that what we say probably won't change his mind anyway, so it's really up to him whether he decides that pushing is absolutely necessary or if he'll just settle with a little bit less so he doesn't have to stress out for another 2 weeks of yelling.
post #38 of 116
2/24/08 at 6:27pm
Thread Starter 
No, they won't do anything for me anymore, and have escalated it to the Fraud Department. So I have to wait even LONGER for a resolution to this while Fraud wonders why it was even escalated to them in the first place (every replacement was justified, and every defective part sent back, I don't see why there's an issue).
post #39 of 116
2/24/08 at 6:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ACHlLLES View Post
I do get it, but how many times did he mention about it? Atleast like 1000 times on this board lol.
Only cause every person here keeps asking me about it.
post #40 of 116
2/24/08 at 6:29pm
The automatic human reaction of greed will always be there when it comes to a situation like this. The problem is three fold:

1. In December to January is when a few reports came in of people getting their E1705's replaced with fully loaded M1730's, this of course made a TON of people with E1705's think "hmmmm....", including me! Its natural to think "he did it, why can't I?" so as the months went on as a few more E1705's started to fail, peoples instant reaction is "WELL HE GOT ONE!!!!" and the battle begins.

2. It seems over the past few months on mine and a few other cases that the Indian tech support reps with no power just LOVE to make promises that they have NO power of holding up... Tons of people were told they would get an amazing system, and could even see the order being placed in their account! But hours later they come to find the order canceled and what the actually deserve has been placed instead, this can be a very painful experience to us geeks who would get our hopes up to the point where we can't sleep at night thinking about opening the box to a free $4000 computer only to find out you are getting a $1300 computer instead, and this feeling instantly turns to RAGE as you call dell back ten seconds later to cry and get something you think you deserve even though you're getting something more than you paid for in the first place!

3. It is VERY hard to feel like you are taking advantage of a HUGE international corporation. If some guy decided click button number two instead of button number one YOU will get a MUCH better computer and be a VERY happy person, and on top of that the company will not be hurt in the least, in the time you can even SAY M1730 they made ten times that much money in sales alone, so why shouldn't you fight to get something better? Not going to hurt anyone, and its going to make YOU happier.

The problem with this whole thing is that the people that are hurt in the end are the customer support reps we talk to. EVERYTHING is super strict over there, have you ever noticed how many times you talk to a supervisor after every call just so that they know you're happy? Thats so they can keep track of who does a good job on the phone and who doesn't. IF there is a rep that is handing out $1000's in upgrades month after month for free, he isn't going to be there very long, so they are protecting themselves and the company they work for (and lots of time their families income) by trying to be fair, but not shaft the company.

Now I can NOT say I am not guilty of any of this, I AM! I bought an E1705 for $1400 a year ago, and fought and fought until I received a brand new M1710 with an upgraded video card and hard drive, but the system they tried to play off on me was a JOKE so I feel justified, but EVERYONE is going to feel justified in what they are doing, thats how the human brain works! You will not find one person on here who actually feels like they are ripping off dell and feels bad for it, I promise that, some people are (not Fenuxx) but if you felt so bad about doing it, you wouldn't.


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